Hess Corporation (HES), headquartered in New York, is an exploration and production company that explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas. With a market cap of $44 billion, the company manages production operations around the world.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap stocks,” and HES perfectly fits that description, with its market cap exceeding this mark, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the oil & gas E&P industry. HES boosts efficiency and reduces risks with cutting-edge tech and a diversified asset base. Strong finances enable growth investments and weather market ups and downs, while its ESG focus enhances reputation and aligns with global sustainability trends.
Despite its notable strength, HES slipped 12% from its 52-week high of $161.69, achieved on Mar. 31. Over the past three months, HES stock declined 1.2%, underperforming the Nasdaq Composite’s ($NASX) 12.2% gains during the same time frame.
In the longer term, shares of HES rose 7% on a YTD basis, outperforming NASX’s YTD marginal gains. However, the stock fell 1% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming NASX’s 9.8% returns over the last year.
To confirm the recent bullish trend, HES has been trading above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since early June.
On Apr. 30, HES shares closed down more than 2% after reporting its Q1 results. Its adjusted EPS of $1.81 topped Wall Street expectations of $1.77. The company’s revenue was $2.94 billion, beating Wall Street forecasts of $2.90 billion.
HES’ rival, Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) lagged behind the stock with a 6% downtick on a YTD basis and 22.3% losses over the past 52 weeks.
Wall Street analysts are moderately bullish on HES’ prospects. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from the 16 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $160.97 suggests a potential upside of 13.2% from current price levels.
On the date of publication, Neha Panjwani did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
